Finance for FoodCapital-raising Tools for Sustainable Food Entrepreneurs2014-07-08T20:48:42Zhttp://www.financeforfood.com/feed/atom/WordPressElizabeth Ühttp://www.financeforfood.com/?p=10212014-03-12T21:33:37Z2014-03-12T21:09:36ZFinance for Food is proud to have contributed the Community Capital Toolkit, recently unveiled by the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).

The Community Capital Toolkit includes:

A Guide to Community Capital, a 20-page introduction to the ideas and language of community capital, filled with on-the-ground examples from local communities across North America. (Don’t miss my section on the three forms of crowdfunding on page 16!)

Access to a Community Capital Library, a comprehensive list of related articles, recommended reading (including Raising Dough), and the leading organizations in community capital today.

There is plenty of fodder in these resources for people who are interested in harnessing the financial wealth that exists within a region to support local, community-serving businesses and organizations. Why not keep this wealth re-circulating for the benefit of the whole community?

]]>1Elizabeth Ühttp://www.financeforfood.com/?p=9992014-02-26T23:23:26Z2014-02-28T16:50:01ZWhen the book came out last summer, I spoke with two dozen radio personalities about Raising Dough, what constitutes a “socially responsible food business” (the answer of course being, “it depends!”), why there are barriers to raising money for them, and how I got into this work in the first place.

Many of the stations recorded and archived these interviews, and I recently discovered that many of them are available online, either as podcasts or as streaming audio.

]]>0Elizabeth Ühttp://www.financeforfood.com/?p=9932014-02-26T23:27:39Z2014-02-26T22:45:22ZCrowdfunding is quite the buzzword these days… who wouldn’t want to raise money from the masses? Unfortunately, many people looking to raise money for their farms or food-based businesses don’t realize that there are many different methods of crowdfunding. Each comes with its own laws, pitfalls, and challenges, but depending on your particular situation, chances are one of them could be a good fit for you.

It’s important to understand the different crowdfunding options out there so that you can assess them based upon your own skills, values, and proclivities. (As an example, community-supported crowdfunding models don’t make any sense for people who would prefer not to have to do a lot of community organizing, but the introverts out there might find peer-to-peer lending to be just the ticket.)

This guide is an invaluable aid for those who produce healthy foods and need a practical and socially responsible business model… The fact-filled, exceptionally well-organized book teaches food idealists how to crunch the numbers and market their product—from conceptual steps to the success that is the dream of every small business person.

The author makes clear that several strategies are needed in order to “raise dough.” First, she asks readers to consider their values and how important are considerations such as place, control, scale, pace, and financial success. She asks whether readers want to be tied to a location, constantly at the helm, or whether they want the business to grow larger, faster, or at a reasonable pace. Are they willing to take financial risks to achieve financial goals?

Is lack of access to capital really a problem for food businesses that are solving social and environmental problems? There are more types of capital than ever before to support food businesses… but many don’t know they exist, they can be challenging to access and even more, it’s hard to tell which type will be the best for each business.

In the most recent of the National Good Food Network series of webinars (watch below), I lay out a framework for thinking about appropriate financing sources for enterprises, sensitive to their unique values, priorities, and where they are in the business lifecycle. This presentation was designed primarily for organizations that work with socially responsible food businesses, such as people who work for nonprofits, government offices, economic development companies, consulting firms, lenders, foundations, family offices. Of course the same principles apply to fundraising entrepreneurs themselves, who will find lots of tools to work with in their quest to raise money.

I was happy to share the “stage” with Gray Harris of Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI), a community development finance institution (CDFI) in Maine. She gives some detailed, illustrative examples of this organization’s investments, and investment strategies in regional food systems. We both come to the same conclusion: capital itself is not enough, and there needs to be a significant technical assistance component to ensure the success of good food ventures.

Finance for Food designs capital and fundraising workshops for food entrepreneurs and those who provide them technical assistance. Please be in touch if your organization would be interested in hosting a workshop, or if you would like to request a workshop in your area.

]]>0Elizabeth Ühttp://www.financeforfood.com/?p=8652013-07-03T03:06:32Z2013-06-24T16:00:25ZI am happy to report that copies of Raising Dough: the Complete Guide to Financing a Socially Responsible Food Business are now available at retail locations.

Can’t find it at your favorite local bookstore? You can ask them to order it for you. Alternately, if you order online using these links for IndieBound (which supports independent booksellers) or Amazon, Finance for Food will receive a portion of your purchase. We still hope you’ll support your local economy by buying local!

If you prefer your books in electronic format, your options include the following:

]]>0Elizabeth Ühttp://www.financeforfood.com/?p=7682013-04-26T17:11:08Z2013-04-23T16:37:49ZThe flow of money into food businesses is closely related to the flow of money into, within, and out of the entire communities that those businesses call home. It’s in fundraising entrepreneurs’ best interests to understand these connections, as more money flowing within a community means more local dollars available for investment into local businesses!

Last Friday, Civil Eats published an article I wrote encouraging local food activists to see their work in the context of a wider local economy movement. Chock full of links to pioneering organizations and resources highlighting the hows and whys of supporting local economies, the article also stresses the importance of supporting independent, local retailers selling any types of products, from food to books.

]]>0Elizabeth Ühttp://www.financeforfood.com/?p=7462013-04-17T22:11:44Z2013-04-17T22:10:03ZWhile writing a book is one way to get the word out about all the different ways to raise money for a socially responsible food business, I also do quite a bit of designing, facilitating, moderating, and speaking at workshops and conferences around the continent. Now that I’ve finished the process of writing and editing Raising Dough, I’m excited to be much more available to work with other communities committed to fostering a thriving financial environment for food businesses.

In addition to teaching financing workshops for food entrepreneurs directly, one of the most powerful things that Finance for Food does is “Train the Trainers” financing workshops designed for people and organizations that work with food entrepreneurs. The workshops empower a much wider range of service providers to give good financing advice to their clients.

These organizations might be membership organizations (such as local, independent business networks and Slow Money chapters) that want their members to understand the most effective ways to connect investors to local businesses seeking capital. Or they could be organizations that provide technical assistance to food businesses (such as extension agencies, business incubators and accelerators, and sustainable food and farming organizations) that want to provide more effective technical assistance and financing referral advice based on the unique needs of their clients. I also work with organizations that provide some form of financing (such as banks, credit unions, USDA field offices, and foundations) and are interested in helping their borrowers or grantees leverage other sources of capital in addition to the loans and grants they can provide directly.

BALLE made the presentation available for free online; check it out below, and I hope you will be in touch if you would like to learn more about putting together a workshop for your organization.

]]>0Elizabeth Ühttp://www.financeforfood.com/?p=7282013-03-21T01:01:34Z2013-03-21T17:26:48ZA couple nights ago I attended the Local Food Lab‘s Food & Farm Venture Fair at Stanford University. I met several passionate start-up entrepreneurs, not to mention several investors and others who support such ventures. Everyone was excited to hear about my book, which is always encouraging.

The question I heard over and over at my little display table when I described the work of Finance for Food was, “How did you get into this?” At first I thought that people were asking for my credentials, ie, “what authority do I have to write a book on financing food businesses?” But I quickly realized that people were less interested in my resume, and more interested in hearing what inspired me to get into this field of work in the first place.

Perfect timing: Slow Money has just posted a video of me describing what inspires me — and what frustrates me — into doing what I do. It’s their most recent Slow Money Minute:

Some of the best conversations I had at the Local Food Lab event had to do with how we make difficult personal choices to pursue work that truly fulfills us. We shared stories about the challenges that come from deciding to do what you are called to do, rather than what you are expected to do, or what might be the most lucrative career path… though these may not be mutually exclusive, of course.

I have been very fortunate to have spent the last ten years of my professional life working with socially responsible food entrepreneurs, helping them identify and access the most appropriate types of capital for their ventures. One of the best events for getting your head around just how complex and exciting this field can be is the Slow Money National Gathering, happening this year in Boulder, CO, from April 29-30. (If you haven’t already registered, you’d better do so soon!) Perhaps I’ll see you there, and we can compare notes on staying inspired?